Stars ownership proves it's willing to spend and build winning franchise

Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill is going to get a lot of credit for the work he did this offseason.

In a little less than three months Nill turned the Stars back into a contender.

The Stars started by solidifying their defense and goaltending, adding Ben Bishop and Marc Methot through trades, and then bolstered their forward group by signing Martin Hanzal and Alexander Radulov as free agents.

On top of that the Stars were amongst the winners at the NHL Entry Draft and the coaching staff decisions should (that’s still a key word here) greatly improve the Stars special teams in October.

While Nill still has some details to hammer out (including contracts for RFAs Radek Faksa and Brett Ritchie), he’s earning the five-year contract extension the Stars gave him in 2016 that runs through the 2022-23 season.

And while Nill is getting the credit today, we also need to recognize the Stars owner Tom Gaglardi who has committed to spend the money to field a competitive team.

“Well our ownership has been very supportive,” Nill said. “They’ve made a big commitment to this franchise since they’ve bought it. Since I’ve come on board as a general manager they’ve supported me making these moves, and that’s important to the franchise and the city here in Dallas — to know that they’ve got ownership that are 100 percent committed in the community.”

Players have also taken notice of what the Stars are doing.

Radulov noted that Dallas’ moves earlier in the offseason were a big selling point for him. Others have also indicated how important it was that Dallas was a big player in the offseason.

“In the end players want to win,” Nill said. “And when they see these moves they know it gives them the best opportunity to win. And I’ve had a chance to talk to quite a few of them. Some of them I’ve had call and talk to players in process, talk about the city and the franchise and everything else. They’re very excited. The coaches and management team are excited, it’s a good feeling.”